India's Green Revolution Depleted by Fertilizer

GlobeTracker| The Green Revolution is withering in India, largely because of soil depleted by fertilizers, supplied to farmers by the government.

On Thursday, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s cabinet announced that India would adopt a new subsidy program in April, hoping to replenish the soil by giving farmers incentives to use a better mix of nutrients. But in a major compromise, the government left in place the old subsidy on urea—meaning farmers will still have a big incentive to use too much of it.

The government intends to phase out the use of urea, which became almost the sole fertilizer used after 1991. Food prices roses 19% in India last year, and land yields are down. By comparison China’s rice yield per hectare if 6.5 tons, compared to India’s at 3.4 tons. India’s is lower than Bangladesh at 3.9 tons, Sri Lanka at 3.7 and Pakistan 3.5.

This article confirms what we know to be a potentially devastating trend in global agriculture and should be read in full. India’s Green Revolution Is Stunted as Fertilizer Subsidy Backfires via WSJ.